Mookie Betts still sounds hurt by Red Sox trade

Mookie Betts still can’t believe he was traded by the Red Sox

The Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from winning the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, and they would not have been in this position if not for a stunning trade that sent Mookie Betts and starter David Price while shipping Alex Verdugo and Jeter Downs to the Boston Red Sox. While Mookie has been his usual, dominant self on the West Coast, there is still a little part of him that misses Fenway Park.

In an interview with former Red Sox teammate David Ortiz, Betts still feels a bit blindsided by the trade, as he envisioned being in Boston for the rest of his career. However, he seems to have landed on his feet with a perennial contender in LA.

Mookie Betts is making the Red Sox pay for trading him this postseason

Betts hit .292 with 16 home runs and 10 steals during his first regular season under manager Dave Roberts in LA. In the postseason, Betts has hit .284 while helping LA win 12 of their 17 playoff games to this point. At just 28 years old, Betts, who signed a contract that will keep him in a Dodgers uniform until 2033, has a lot left in the tank.

Roberts is fully aware of how he was able to steal Betts due to Boston’s misguided directive to cut salary. While Verdugo had a solid first season in Boston and Downs has tons of potential, the Dodgers acquired one of the game’s few truly transformative players, and they’ve set themselves up for a decade of dominance in the NL West.

Unless Verdugo and Downs start to become All-Stars as soon as they hit the majors, this trade will be talked out in a negative light for decades in Boston. If the Dodgers get one more win, Mookie will have his second championship as a player and his first ring in Dodger blue.